W&WWW Weekend Edition

That would be Wild & Wacky Washington Weather to you.

At 6:37 Friday morning the Oly School District called to inform us that, once again, school would be closed due to inclement weather. Wonderful! That first day was great, even welcome. Day 2 might not go as well.

The food supply was low, as was my patience. The sky was clear, and the snow was slushy. For the second day in row they built forts, ate homemade waffles, and then headed outside.

The boys had fun playing some crazy monster game in the woods while the girls enjoyed being pulled around on the sled.

Despite the sunshine peeking through, it was freezing! Below freezing to be exact. That made for a very slippery sheet of ice on my driveway:

That mound of ugliness, that's my knee. Did I mention it was slippery? Ouch!


Luckily, not all bad comes from slippery. A slippery driveway means a slippery street upon which to sled:



That's J in front of our house. I love hearing his excitement as he's going down that hill. I didn't realize it was that steep; although, seeing my then-three year old on his bike shooting down there at full speed and crash into the railing because he didn't know how to apply his brakes should have clued me in. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Okay. I got sidetracked. That's a story for another day.

By the time 4:30 came around, M and I had been stuck in Woodtrails since Tuesday. That's three-and-a-half-plus days, People! We met Daddy at the mall. I went to get a haircut while he and the kiddos went to Chuck E Cheese, then we all met up and had Thai food for dinner.

That was all I wrote for the rest of the weekend. I didn't step outside again until yesterday morning. I organized, I scraped, I loved it. D went to the gym and the grocery store both days. And the kids, they joined him on his gym outings. Other than that, we were pretty much all hermits.

We had two movies nights ~ one family and one adult (not that adult), ate good food, watched the Oscars, J played way too much Wii. We even got a game of Monopoly Junior in.

As any person living in the Northwest will tell you, a little rain ~ okay, a lot of rain ~ a whole lot of rain ~ isn't going to stop the earth's rotation -- or a kid's soccer game, for that matter. We may grunt and complain, but we'll slip on our rain boots and go with it. And when summer decides to finally make an appearance, we'll go even faster ~ sans the rain boots, of course ~ Because before we know it, the rain will come back to overstay its welcome once again.

Sometimes a late-winter snowfall, though it may not stop the earth's rotation either, puts a wonderfully unexpected stop to our routine. And a smile on our face.

(And a video on the blog? Maybe! First time I've been able to load one. And not for lackof trying. Enjoy!)

Wild & Wacky Washington Weather

We've lived here for 3.5 years and have yet to figure out what normal weather is. Our first winter here a portion of I-5 collapsed due to flooding. I was assured that wasn't normal. Several months later, I woke up on my birthday (in mid-April) to a snow-capped lawn. Again, that wasn't normal. The next winter we got heavy and "abnormal" snowfalls that brought both the Puget Sound region and all travel to a halt that Christmas holiday. Last year's "spring-like weather" in January and February, well that wasn't normal either. And the rains that lasted well into the middle of June ~ you get the picture.....

What a difference a year makes. This February is reminiscent of December. Yesterday we had sunshine, snow, hail, and wind all in the matter of a few hours. And this morning's announcement of a two-hour late start was quickly upgraded to a snow day.

So what do you do when that news is sprung on you bright and early in the morning: I'll show you.

First, the kids build forts out of anything imaginable while Mommy scours the pantry to make sure there's enough food to last the day:

Then you dust off the professional-grade waffle maker that usually gets used only once a year:

You make sopita for lunch, a fruit smoothie for snack, and chicken soup for dinner.

You walk the neighborhood,

and weather the storm



until you find some friends that share your passion for playing no matter what Mother Nature throws at you:



You use your imagination ~ or maybe you're just delirious ~ and build a shrine to the
grandmother of snowy fun, Mt. Rainier.


You put your V-Day present to good use by filling up over and over:

And you fill its counterpart with hot chocolate for your little guy:

you pull out some stashed-away birthday presents that you were

smart enough to save for a "snowy day":

And then you deal with the mess left behind:

And another unrelated one:

You anxiously wait for Daddy to come home so you can go outside and

eat some snow?

Yup...eat some snow,

make a giant snowball,

and then throw smaller ones and M and me:

You thank God that you are lucky enough to not have to worry about missing work, calling in sick, or putting yourself and your kids in danger by getting into a car.

You pray a rosary, light a candle, and continue to pray that the school is open for business as usual tomorrow.

The Object of My Frustration

If anyone actually read my blog, they would notice that there's been some lapse in my entries as of late. A couple of posts ago I wrote that I had been cleaning house and I attributed the "blog neglect" to that. And while that was a big part of it, the other contributing factor is this piece of -- um, "equipment," right here:



My camera. I hate it! And I've turned into one of those folks that don't like blog entries without pictures. I go back and forth on whether I should take the plunge and get one of those really nice ones that seem to be the latest "in" thing among every mother and well, their mother.

The truth is that taking a photography course has always been something I've thought about. and I'd certainly have to if I made the big investment. I'm pretty creative, but I'm not a natural photog. Every once in a while when I do get a good picture it's because I got lucky after snapping 359 of them. That being said, I have no doubt that with a little instruction, I'd be snapping some frame-and-mat worthy pictures.

At the start of last summer I made a conscious effort to learn everything there was to know about my old point and shoot before giving the fancy deal another thought. That was all it took for the darn thing to fall on the floor and die on me soon thereafter. Unfortunately, it was a few days before J's Kinder Program and I had to run out and get something else. I didn't even have my iPhone then, so I really had no choice. We ran to Costco and got the one I currently own.

And now, to top it off, the USB cord that also serves as a charger is missing. I'm going to have to go out and spend more money on this thing that I can't stand. Wonderful.

Once again, I'm going to make a conscious effort to learn everything about this camera before giving the fancy deal another thought.

One of a few things can happen: I can learn it and love it; I can learn it and hate it; or, if Murphy's Law is on my side, it can meet the same fate as the other one and rest forever peacefully in camera heaven.

(btw: the fact that the picture above is really ugly, didn't get lost on me. I think I just made my case for why I need to enroll in a class.)

I YA U ME

M has been a talking machine lately. She never ceases to amaze us with the things she picks up and then repeats at the perfect time. She can hold a full-on conversation that will quickly make you forget that she's only a little over two. And that's why it's so cute when she reverts back to her toddler speak.

The other day we were sitting on the couch before bed. She climbed in next to J and began the usual rubbing of his head. She then inched her face into his and said, "I ya you, J." He ignored her. She tried again. Without taking his eyes off of the television set, he acknowledged her with an "Okay" that sounded more like a grunt. Not one to be easily discouraged, she went for it once again:

M: I ya you, J.
J: (Silence).
M: (Continues to stare at him in anticipation of a response ~ there is none.)

And then finally:

M: I ya you me, J?
J: (Silence).
M: I YA YOU ME, J!!!!
J: Okay, M. Yeah, I love you.
M: Okay.

The girl knows what she wants and she's going after it even if she has to beat it out of you!

And, since we're in the "loving" sort of mood: Today is Valentines Day, so I'll throw in a couple of pictures of the kids with their Valentines cards:





A picture of the cards with their kids would be a more accurate description, but whatever. They loved their new shirts: a TS3 one for J (of course), and an Olivia for M.

D even got me a new coffee mug in my favorite yellow color. I ya you, D!

Happy Heart's Day!

Home Organized Home

Hello February ~ Wow. Where did January go without me as much as stopping by to say hello?

One of my things to do this year ~ not a resolution so much as a decision ~ was to get the house organized. Yeah, I know, that's my "thing" each and every day, but that's my excuse for where I've been and it's been so much fun. I'm a junkie. I love order. An organized closet brings me great, great joy.

I stumbled upon this blog,and it's been really nice to know that there are other neurotic folks like me out there. She puts me to shame, really, but that's okay.

I thought I knew pretty much there is to know on this here topic, but to my chagrin, I've learned a new thing or two by reading it.

I used to put things off until I organized this or that or that, but I've come to the conclusion that organizing is a journey...I may never have the whole house organized at once, and that too is okay.

So, without further ado, I'm back. I'll organize AND blog just like I've been doing since I started this here ol' manuscript almost two years ago. Because if there's anything I love almost as much as an organized closet, it's a good blog entry.

Almost.